Name: Bismillah Safdari

Profile: Hazara refugee from Afghanistan, living in Indonesia.

Advantages: UN-certified, good English skills, photographer, FULLY FUNDED.

Risk: At risk of being tortured and killed by his uncle and the Taliban if returned home.

Canadian contact: Stephen Watt

Bismillah’s family fled to Pakistan to save their life from his uncle who was involved in illegal works. From Pakistan, Bismillah fled to Indonesia due to security issues.

Unfortunately, he has been deprived of his basic human rights as a refugee in Indonesia. His hope now is to find a group of Canadian friends who can bring him to Canada where he can get education and fulfill his dream of becoming a businessman one day.

Losing His Father

Bismillah Safdari was born on October 1, 1999 in Malistan district in Ghazni province in Afghanistan. He was living a happy life with his family. His father used to work in Iran to support them.

The Hazara people of the region have long been targets of persecution and massacres because of their culture, religion, and love for education. In 2014, Bismillah’s father was going to Iran. When he reached Zabul district, the Taliban killed him and other Hazara passengers.

“After a few days, my father’s dead body arrived and we buried him.”

Family in Danger

Bismillah’s father used to tell his family that he had a brother who had been living on the Northside of Afghanistan. His name was Abdullah. Some days later, Bismillah’s uncle, Abdullah appeared and promised to take the responsibility for Bismillah’s family and move them to the North side of Afghanistan. He seemed a good man, so Bismillah and his family trusted him. After selling the house and land of Bismillah, his uncle took the whole family to his home.

Later on, Bismillah’s uncle told his mother that he would take Bismillah to a school that was far and Bismillah would be able to visit his mother every Friday. Things got changed when Bismillah was taken to a hotel instead of a school.

“My uncle was not a good person. He was a gambler and obsessed with all corruptions.”

When Bismillah went there, he saw that all the children under the age of 15 were gathered. They were being forced to wear ladies' dresses and dance in front of drunk people. This was his uncle’s business and Bismillah was threatened by him not to tell his mother about this.

Escaping to Pakistan

On Friday, after Bismillah visited his mother and shared everything with her, she got very worried and told Bismillah not to tell anyone. She then contacted her brother and asked him to help her family to escape from there.

The next Friday when Bismillah return to his home, his maternal uncle helped him and his family escape from there to Mazar-e-Sharif at midnight. From Mazar, they migrated to Quetta, Pakistan.

Journey to Indonesia

Due to the terrorist attacks on the Hazara people in Pakistan, Bismillah’s mother decided to send him to a safe country. With the help of his maternal uncle, Bismillah was taken to Kabul where he stayed for a week and arranged for a people smuggler. On September 4, 2014, he flew to New Delhi, India. From there, he went to Malaysia by plane and then on to Pekanbaru, Indonesia by boat on September 25, 2014.

Life in Indonesia

After arriving in Jakarta, he registered himself with the UNHCR on September 29, 2014. With no right to work or way to support himself in the new country, he went to Pekanbaru Immigration Centre to ask for assistance. On November 23, 2015, he was transferred to a detention centre, and on January 21, 2016, he was transferred to a shelter in Makassar which was for refugees under the age of 18. Since then, he has been living in Makassar where he has been practicing his photoshop skills and doing exercises. As a refugee, Bismillah cannot work, get proper education, drive and even open a bank account. He hopes to resettle in a safe country like Canada where he can get proper education and support his family.

His Dream

“My dream is to be a businessman in the future and I need help from kind-hearted Canadian friends who can bring me to Canada.”

Since Bismillah is officially certified as a refugee by the UNHCR – unlike the vast majority of the world’s refugees – he qualifies for Canada’s private sponsorship program, another good thing about him is that he is FULLY FUNDED.

If you would like to sponsor him – or if you’re just interested in helping to bring him here – please contact his friend Stephen Watt on Facebook.

You can also reach out to Bismillah directly on Facebook.

Reach out and discover how wonderful it is to privately sponsor a good person to start a new life – with your help – in Canada!

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